The primary purpose of the present research was to investigate the influence of the alloying elements and multiple thermal cycling on the hot cracking resistance of austenitic stainless steel weld metals.In addition, the effect of composition and multiple thermal cycling on the hot ductility was also determined and correlated with the hot cracking tendency.To more clearly define the variables, the following experimental methods were developed and experiments conducted: (1) a method to deveIop laboratory-made alloys with variations in composition, (2) a method to evaluate the hot ductility and the hot cracking behavior of commercial weld metals in addition to experimental compositions, and (3) a test to separate the influence of strain and thermal history on the hot cracking tendency of the alloy.